To Walk Alone
by MunchBunchMegan
Summary: The company meets again at Rivendell, and there are many introductions. However, Sauron has returned in spirit form and is trying to take back Middle Earth. When an innocent child becomes a dangerous weapon in the enemy's hands, the fellowship must reassemble, for there are bonds of love that not even Sauron can break.
1. Chapter 1

**To Walk Alone**

It had been some time since the war of the ring, but its effects had not been forgotten by those involved. Scars, both mental and physical, had never properly healed. So it came to be that when the company gathered once more at Rivendell, there were old wounds that reopened, and new ones inflicted on the innocent.

Frodo walked amongst the trees, letting his hand trail on the bark. He loved trees, especially those as beautiful as in Rivendell. He found himself wandering for hours on end in the forests, and he felt at peace. Today though, something was different. In perhaps the second hour of his peaceful walk, Frodo heard a rustling in the leaves nearby. He turned around, expecting to see an animal of some kind scamper away after disturbing the silence, but he saw nothing. Dismissing it as his imagination, Frodo kept walking. However, he heard the noise again. This time he realised it was coming from in front of him and a little off to the left. He drew back against a tree trunk, wary of his surroundings now. He was right to have moved off the trail, for the collection of horses that cantered through a moment later would certainly have squashed the little hobbit flat. A rider in the middle looked back and spotted Frodo cowering amongst the trees. They said something in Elvish which caused the others in the party to draw to a halt. The rider dismounted noiselessly and walked over to Frodo.

Close up, Frodo could see that the person was a female and most definitely an elf. The elf smiled and held out her hand to shake. Frodo took it and she clasped both his hands in hers. She closed her eyes a moment and released his hands. Frodo opened them and saw a small golden flower in his palm. He looked up at her face in wonder, and she laughed – a sweet tinkling sound that warmed Frodo's heart to hear. Looking at her more closely, Frodo realised that she was very young. Although Frodo knew enough of elves to understand that looks were misleading, this one was certainly younger than any other elf he had encountered. "Hello," she said, curtseying politely. "I am Eryn, what is your name?" "F..Frodo," Frodo answered, and his blue eyes found her green ones. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?" he asked quietly. She winked, and laughed again. "I am two hundred and four." Frodo raised his eyebrows, for he had expected her to be about fifty. She looked no older than fourteen. He opened his mouth to reply, when he heard another voice call; "Eryn? Eryn where are you?" Eryn looked around and smiled. She turned back to Frodo and said "That is my father calling. Are you staying here in Rivendell?" Frodo nodded. "Perhaps you could come back with us, for you seem to have wandered a far way off from where you are meant to be!" she said lightly, her tone teasing. Something was nagging at Frodo's mind. He looked into Eryn's eyes and was sure there was something familiar about them. But he was doubly sure that he had never met this elf before. He would have remembered. Suddenly, another elf appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Frodo, not paying attention, did not look closely at the elf until he heard his name. "Frodo! Whatever are you doing out here?" Surprised, Frodo looked up at the taller elf. "Legolas!" Frodo said in shock, for he had not seen his friend for a long time. Typically, although Frodo had aged in the time that had passed, Legolas did not look a day older. Legolas put his arm around Eryn's shoulder and said proudly "I see you have met my daughter, Eryn." Frodo nodded and Legolas laughed. In question, Frodo held up the golden flower. With a mischievous twinkle in his wise eyes, Legolas chuckled. "And I see she wasted no time in showing you her tricks. Come, we will take you back to Rivendell."

And with that, the party of elves and Frodo dispersed.


	2. Chapter 2

When they reached the House of Elrond, Frodo thanked the elves for their kindness and bid them farewell. He walked off to join Merry and Pippin, who were sitting nearby. He told them about his encounter with the elves, and Eryn, the kind elf who could make flowers appear out of nowhere. His friends listened, but they did not believe him when he mentioned the flower. As if by magic, Eryn suddenly appeared next to him and greeted him warmly. "Hello again Frodo, may I sit with you a while?" she asked politely. Frodo nodded and smiled. Eryn sat down on the ground next to Frodo, and noticed Merry and Pippin staring at her intently. A little unnerved, she pointedly looked away. After a few minutes, she looked back at them and said; "If there is something amiss with my appearance, would you please tell me instead of staring at me so?" Merry and Pippin blushed and apologised. "Forgive me, but you are most beautiful. Also, I have not met many elves, and you are the youngest I have seen," said Pippin, bowing his head. Merry however, seemed intent on finding out one thing; "Frodo said you could do magic. Is that true?" At this question, Eryn laughed her sweet laugh and smiled happily. "I wouldn't call it magic, but yes, I can." She took Merry's hand gently and told him to close his eyes. When he obeyed, she winked at Frodo and thought carefully for a moment. Then she sat back and bid Merry to open his eyes. He did so, and found the most glorious red apple in his hands. He thanked Eryn many, many times before running off to show everybody else. Shaking his head in amusement, Frodo stood up. Eryn did the same, and Frodo was surprised to find that she stood only about a foot taller than him. She bent down slightly, and kissed him on the cheek before walking back to her party. Frodo's hand caressed his cheek where she had kissed him, and he watched her walk away, noticing how the sun made her golden hair seem as if it were glowing. Shaking himself out of his trance, Frodo hurried off after his friends.

Sometime later that day, the council of Elrond commenced. For some present, it was the first time they had seen their friends in many years. There were subtle changes this time however. For one thing, the seat which previously held Boromir was now occupied by Faramir, who seemed much more at ease than his brother had. Also, Eryn sat on her father's right hand side, and all four hobbits were there. Elrond stood, and surveyed those present. His eyes returned to look over the hobbits several times, and when he reached Eryn with his gaze his eyes widened slightly and he inclined his head towards her. She did the same, and placed the tip of her forefinger to her lips before holding it up in front of her. The elves on either side of her followed suit, and Frodo guessed it was a sign of respect. Elrond smiled in acceptance of the gesture and then his eyes moved on to the dwarves who were sitting next to the elves. Frodo noted how Gimli had seated himself next to Legolas, and the two seemed completely at ease with each other. Indeed, before Elrond had called the council to order, Eryn had been leaning over, deep in conversation with Gimli. This made Frodo think that perhaps Eryn had been brought up with different views on dwarves than other elves. He suddenly realised that Elrond was speaking, and he brought his attention back to the front.

"It has come to my attention that there have been a large number of orc attacks in recent months, and that a number of elves have been reported missing. Lord Faramir will explain more than I can." With that, Elrond sat down and looked pointedly at Faramir, who stood and cleared his throat. "Lord Elrond is right. We have seen numerous orc patrols near our borders, and some have attacked. It has been getting steadily worse until the city of Osgiliath was very nearly overrun again. We fear that a dark force is stirring somewhere." Faramir sat down. Out of the corner of his eye, Frodo saw Eryn whisper something into Legolas' ear. Legolas nodded, and quietly Eryn stood. She walked to Elrond and reached up. She whispered in his ear, and Frodo supposed it was the same thing she had told Legolas. Elrond looked at Eryn and nodded silently. With that, Eryn walked back to her seat and sat down. Elrond straightened up and spoke. "Eryn has suggested that we journey to the remains of Mordor to see what lies there. We do not know what has been happening there since Sauron's downfall, but we can only hope it is nothing serious. Some shall have to go there and investigate." There was silence after this announcement. Then Frodo heard a voice; "I will go." He looked up and saw that it was Legolas who had spoken. At this, several people stood to pledge their commitment to the quest. Amongst them were Gimli, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, Sam and Frodo. Faramir took his brother's place in the Fellowship, and Eryn also joined. It was as close as they were going to get to the old Fellowship, with Eryn's 'magic' instead of Gandalf's. Frodo looked around at the faces of his friends, and he knew instinctively that they would go anywhere to protect the world they fought so hard to build. Especially Faramir, Frodo added as an afterthought. The company prepared themselves to leave immediately, and Frodo couldn't stop himself from feeling a strange combination of excitement and mortal terror.


	3. Chapter 3

Quick Note:

ElrondofImladris – aaaah….. You shall have to wait and see!

Also, this chapter is kind of a gap filler since I wrote the story back to front (?) so I've ended up with the middle chunk ready to roll but I need to make them end up there first – if that makes sense…. Anyway so let's get going: D

**Chapter 3: **

The snow had fallen thick and fast in the night. It had covered everything with its soft blanket, as far as the eye could see. It was still falling, but only little flakes spiralling down and landing gently on the covered ground. The hobbits had been ecstatic at first, to see the snow, and had enjoyed throwing snow balls at their companions (much to their annoyance, if I might add!). However, soon they were shivering and ghostly blue and it became apparent that they needed to move a lot faster if they would have any chance of reaching their destination with everyone in one piece.

Hours later, the wind had picked up and was roaring around them, whipping their hair into their faces. The men were carrying the hobbits, shoving their way through the snow. "We need to move faster or we'll never reach shelter before nightfall!" shouted Aragorn above the wind. "How are we supposed to move faster with all this snow?" shouted back Faramir. The others thought for a moment, and then a blur of green and yellow whizzed above them. Eryn landed softly in front of the party and sat down on the snow. Everyone looked at Legolas in question, but he shrugged his shoulders. Just as Aragorn was going to say something, Eryn jumped up and turned around, a big smile on her face. In her hand was a tiny glittering flame, which was staying still despite the horrendous winds doing their best to put it out. She bent down and set it on the snow. It began to melt a hole, and then the snow around it seemed to catch fire. Frodo rubbed his eyes and looked again, certain that he was hallucinating. But he was not. They could all see it now, the fire on the snow, melting it away. Then it was gone, and they could see a clear trail far in front of them. Stunned, they all continued on their way.

(I know, that was rubbish, I just needed a gap filler like I said :D )


End file.
